I really enjoyed this novel, and I cannot wait for the second one to come out! This one held such intensity and emotion in it that I just couldn't put it down, and when I reached then end, well, my mind was pretty much blown away. It was that great. And it definitely leaves you wanted the next book, which is always a good thing.:)

I really tried to give this book a chance. I got halfway. The writing is redundant, way too many cliche phrases and we don't need to know how "lusciously" the main love interests eyes/abs/insert body part are glistening in the sun every waking moment. The characters are severely lacking in personality or interest. I have no idea who protagonist is. She seems to sway one way or the next depending on what's happening and contradicts herself every chance she gets. She has no drive, no goals and no backbone. A heroine with nothing to offer frustrates me those most and is ultimately what killed this book for me. (Switching between 1st and 2nd perspective was also distracting.) Two stars for an interesting premise, but I'm struggling to find anything else to like about this book.

Well, this one wasn't for me. The basic premise sounded good, and the story had some elements I enjoyed to a point, but overall, I was disappointed. There was a lot of potential that just wasn't realized.

First, I really, really disliked Lailah. She was petty, INCREDIBLY fickle, stubborn (which in and of itself is not a bad trait, but Lailah had only the worst sides of it), and for some reason felt that she got to be the moral judge of everyone else despite her own issues. The girl changed her mind on whether she though someone was evil and she hated them or they were good and she loved them more often than I blink!!!!!

There was also the "Let's keep her in the dark for her own good" trope which annoys the hell out of me. Gabriel's patronizing was only second to Lailah as a whole on my dislike list for this book.

The one bright spot (pardon the pun), was Jonah. I really like Jonah, and if I didn't have to suffer through Lailah for another two books, I would want to know what happens to him. As it stands, I think both guys are better off without Lailah and she can go find some poor doormat to be with. Needless to say, I will not be continuing the trilogy.

It drove me a little crazy, but I loved it! I ship Gabriel and Lailah for life!

This book was interesting. It was very paranormal. I did enjoy it, but some parts were confusing. Great writing style and of course there was a cliff-hanger!

Lailah has no idea what or who she is. She dies and then wakes back up. She also doesn't even know her original name. She meets Jonah, who she helps. She finds out that he is a vampire and lets him drink from her. She then comes across a guy that is very familiar to her. Later she remembers his name.. Gabriel. Gabriel helps Lailah with her powers and Lailah finds out that she had history with Gabriel. Of course there are some plot twists and turns along that way. But overall, this is a great book.

This review was originally written for Read.Sleep.Repeat.

I received this book from Macmillan for a review (thanks!), however, this does not affect the contents of my review nor my thoughts about the book.

Looking at the cover and reading the synopsis, it was pretty easy for me to want to read this book IMMEDIATELY. Basically, a 17 year old girl,Francesca, is immortal, well, sort of. When she dies, she comes back to life immediately but with little memory except her name and a general sense of who she is. Except, Francesca doesn’t really know how or why she can’t die. And this is where the plot of Lailah starts.

Lailah was just a whirlwind of action, suspense, a little creepiness and swoon-worthy romance. The mystery behind Francesca (a.k.a Cessie)’s immortality is not too hard to figure out but Francesca still struggles to understand it herself. While all of this self-searching is happening, Cessie struggles to choose between two guys. Yes, there is a love triangle and while I am not a fan of them, this love triangle was handled excellently (it was actually plausible). Gabriel, an angel, is basically a Boy Scout on the outside but as the book goes on, maybe there’s more to him than meets the eye. The same is relevant of Jonah except Jonah is a vampire and is pretty much the opposite of Gabriel, or is he? *dun dun dunnn*

In general, I thought the romance was done well and I enjoyed reading parts of it however Cessie annoyed me endlessly. Before she starts having an inner monologue about which guy to choose, I think she needs to figure out who she is. I understand that she’s a little niave (especially about herself) so I understand why she has a huge co-dependence but it still annoyed me. Francesca was very determined, which I enjoyed, but her co-dependence annoyed me endlessly but by the end of the book, Francesca grew quite a lot from her niave-self in the beginning of the book and I hope that happens with the rest of the series as well.

The world-building and plot were just exceptional. Seriously, I adored it. I couldn’t even imagine a world that has vampires and angels and I really enjoyed that fresh twist. I loved all of the origin stories of each being and the unique execution of the plot. While most of the plot moved forward through Francesca’s naivety, I still was surprised by some twists and turns.

Overall, I really really enjoyed Lailah and its world was just captivating! I definitely recommend this one for people looking for an awesome paranormal novel with quite a bit of hot romance!

Full rant review to come.

In a battle as old as time between good and evil, Cessie (Lailah) is not sure what she is and where she falls into the great divide of angels and vampires. The only information she has about her past is what she has relived through her dreams and even then she is not sure how much of it is true. That is until she runs into an injured stranger named Jonah and her whole life slowly starts to change as she learns more about who she is and what she is. There is suspense, mystery, action, romance and of course some swoon worthy men!

This book was exactly what I needed. I was completely captivated by the story, world and characters that I had a hard time putting it down and actually read a majority of the book in one sitting! I was nervous going into this book because of the vampires and sometimes they get a little weird and overdone, but I was pleasantly surprised and loved the world. The world building was subtle enough that it wasn't overloaded all at once, but you learn alongside Cessie (Lailah). I also loved that the book was based in Europe, it created a beautiful setting and a great feature to the story! Kelly laid out a story that was so beautifully written and flowed so well that it was so easy to devour. There was a youthfulness to her writing that allowed me to easily connect to Lailah and totally understood her, her problems, feelings and where she was coming from as well as Brooke and the other characters.

The characters sure had large dynamic and unique personalities! Kelly did a fabulous job crafting some absolutely amazing men! The earn the title for being swoon worthy and each have their own personalities and qualities that enhance each of them! I have to say although Gabriel is the handsome angel that is protective and caring, I am definitely into the bad boy vampire with that great sass! I loved that each character had their own stories and connection to the other characters. Lailah was a strong female character and definitely had a mind of her own. She went through a lot and there was lots of character development seen through the whole book.

As much as I loved and adored this book there were a few things that annoyed me a little, but I was able to ignore for the most part because of the great story, world and characters! There is a love triangle, this should be no surprise because most paranormal romances (basically YA genre in general) seem to have this element. There were also times that I was reminded a lot of Twilight (and not just because they are both paranormal romances with love triangles and vampires) it was certain words and actions that instantly took me back to Twilight, but it only happened a few time.

Through the clichés, came a story that I found unique and a new take on the typical good versus evil story. It had a fresh twist our world and the idea of heaven and hell. There were twists and surprises, swoony men and great characters full of life and personality. There were some great swoon worthy quotes and great fangirl moments. It left me wanting (needing) more and has become a guilty pleasure read for me that I am sure will become a re-read very soon! I highly recommend it for fans of Richelle Mead, Jennifer L. Armentrout and Stephanie Meyer. It read like the greats that came before it, Twilight, The Vampire Academy, White Hot Kiss etc. (This is not just because it is about vampires it is because it is a captivating paranormal romance!)